Blue Moon Romance
by TheSodaVampire
Summary: When Harley comes to La Push to 'rescue' her friend from a bad decision, she doesn't expect to find something that only comes once in a Blue Moon. Leah/OC, Fem-slash.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: I'm not dead. So much has happened in this last year! I was going to post this story this time last year, but my grandma died, my ex broke up with me, I temporarily lost my mind, found the new love of my life, ultimately decided what I want to do in my life, tried to move out, and all the while battled epic writer's block. This first chapter was written by my good friend Kristyn, so if you guys notice a difference in writing styles, that's why. :)_

Summary: When Harley comes to La Push to 'rescue' her friend, she doesn't expect to find something that only comes Once in a Blue Moon. Leah/OC, Fem-slash.

Yes. You read correctly. Fem-slash. Lesbianism. Girl/Girl love. If this offends you, this is your chance to hit that back button right up there. I'm not forcing you to read this. You have been warned.

Blue Moon Romance

By TheSodaVampire

Prologue

Tabby's POV

'_Ah...' _I thought to myself while taking in the beautiful scenery. I had hiked at least four miles into the woods, and it was getting dark already; which was weird because i had started hiking at like eight this morning. Plus i never stopped for more then a few seconds or minutes. I turned back when i heard a noise coming from some bushes and trees. I tried to figure out where it came from when...

"TABBY!"

My eyes shot open at the sound of my little cousin screaming my name in my ear. "My mom's taking us to Port Angles today, so get up." she said flipping my lights on, then walking out of my room leaving the door open.

'_I don't care how young she is, I'm gonna kill her if she keeps doing that.' _I thought as I rolled out of bed. I threw on a pair of jeans and a sweat shirt over my tank-top, then i put on my black converse.

My aunt, uncle, cousin and I were staying in La Push, WA, at my uncle's parents' house. Now my uncle is my uncle by marriage, so his parents aren't my grandparents. There was no special reason for our visit, so I guess my aunt and uncle just didn't want to stay at home during our winter vacation. I tagged along because my classes didn't start for another week, my boss was still on vacation, and I didnt want to stay home alone.

"Good morning, Tabby, breakfast?" Elle, my uncle's mom, asked.

"Yes please." I said sitting at the counter, as she slid a plate of cheese scrambled eggs in front of me. When my cousin realized I came out of the room i was sleeping in, she sat beside me then started to talk my ear off. Luckily i was able to tune her out and focused on eating my eggs.

Not long after I finished eating, my aunt came out of her room and had said that we were getting ready to go. I ran into my room grabbed my little black purse,and my cell phone, then ran into the bathroom to throw on a little bit of makeup.

My aunt, cousin and I spent a good couple of hours just walking around Port Angeles and doing some shopping. Then my aunt got a call from her boss, i guess she had some work to follow up on real quick. So we walked to a little coffee shop that had wifi for my aunt.

While she did her work, i got myself a tall non-fat mocha, then sat very comfortably in one of the big squishy chairs that were next to the table that my aunt was working at. I pulled out my I pod so i didn't have to listen to my cousin try and talk my ear off again. I looked at my phone and sent a text to Roxie, one of my best friend friends since elementary school. Then i looked at the time, and realized that it was only 11am. There was no way i was going to get a reply from her anytime soon. Then i sent another text to Harley, another best friend from elementary school, and i wast sure if she was awake or not, but i was more likely to get a response from her this early in the morning then i was with Roxie.

I was about to take a sip from my mocha when a roar of laughter caught my attention. I looked up at the front door and saw that a group of guys had just entered. All of them were really tall and really well built. They looked like some of the guys I saw around on the reservation.

But one of these boys caught my attention. He as slightly smaller then the rest, but still considerably taller then me. Which wasn't hard to believe, cuz here I am at 19 years old and I'm only 5'2". Yea, I'm short, but I've been told that my bubbly personality makes up for my lack of height.

Anyways, back to this guy, his back was towards me so he didn't know i was looking at him. He skin was a russet color and his hair contrasted with his skin so well being as it was a jet black color. Or maybe just a really dark brown, it was hard to really tell in this light. And his muscles. Boy oh boy did he have some muscles.

One of his friends noticed me looking at him then whispered and nodded in my direction. I tried to look away before he saw me, but i failed. His eyes locked with mine and I felt something. Something that was missing from my past relationships. A smile creeped onto his beautiful face, and his buddies started to whisper amongst them selves. I finally looked down when i realized my phone was vibrating in my lap. It was a response from Harley.

Harley: [Hey. *yawn* How're you this fine February morning?]

I knew she would text back, whether she was fully awake or not.

Tabby: [OMG! Harl, a really cute guy just looked at me.]

After sending her my response to her text, my cousin said we were leaving now. So i put my phone in my pocket and my ipod back in my purse. I grabbed my coffee off the table and got up to leave, but right when I get out of my chair i hit something really hard. I feel back into the chair spilling my mocha all down my shirt, and it wasn't a cold mocha, let me tell you.

"Oh my god, I'm sooo sorry." A voice above me said helping me to my feet while screaming at his buddies to get some napkins. I couldn't help but notice there was a bit of panic in his voice.

"I'm sorrynodontworryaboutmei'mfine." I said rather quickly trying to keep up with alot of hustle and bustle that was going on just as fast around me. I looked up to see who i bumped into and I froze where I stood. My eyes locked with his. It was the cute guy that i was staring at before. As he handed me some napkins our hands touched and I felt like a shock go through me. I was finally able to look away when my cousin's high pitched voice came screaming into my ears again.

"TABBY! we need to go." I just nodded at her, then looked up at my walking talking, cute brick wall.

"Uh, thanks." I said while blushing and holding up the napkins.

"N-No Prob-lem." I couldn't help but giggle at his stutter. I had also taken into account that he looked much younger then me, but something felt right with him. It was kinda weird.

"I'm Tabitha, but everyone calls me Tabby."

"I'm Seth. Everyone just calls me Seth." Again I giggled. What can I say, I get giggly around really cute guys, and very blush-y. Then I heard a car horn from outside. I looked at the parkinglot, my aunt was on her phone and my cousin had a big goofy smile on her face. She honked the horn. I just rolled my eyes at her and smiled.

"Sorry, I'm being honked at." I laughed, Seth laughed with me this time.

"That's OK, maybe I'll see you later."

I smiled and nodded, "Maybe, if your anywhere near La Push."

Seth's eyebrows raised in surprise as his eyes lit up. "I live in La Push."

An eager smile formed on my face as well, "Really, Awesome. I'm visiting for a week. We should hang out."

"Yea. Totally." Seth agreed, nodding.

"Here, I'm gonna give you my cell number. you should text me." I said pulling a pen out of my purse, then i took his massive hand in mine, taking note how hot he seemed to feel and the shocking feeling again. I wrote my number on his hand, then we said our good byes and I walked out to the car. As my aunt was pulling away from the coffee shop I pulled out my cell and sent a text to Roxie and Harley about what had just happened.

The next morning i got up pretty early. I was always kind of an early raiser. I looked at my phone for the time but realized i had an unread text, from a number I didn't know.

[Hey Tabby, it's Seth, Just wondering if you still wanna hang.] I couldn't help but smile and feel all giddy as I read it over and over and over again. I texted back [Hey, Seth, Love to hang, Just tell me when and where] After sending my reply i saved his number then checked the time. It was 7:15am. I jumped out of bed, still feeling kinda giddy. I pulled on a pair of shorts then pulled on a heavy sweat shirt over my tank top again and put on some tennies. Mind you, yea its the first week of January, and i don't care how gross it is outside, i cant do any kind of workout in pants. And i wanted to hike today. I threw my hair in a ponytail before walking out of my room. Elle was cooking breakfast, I told her I was gonna for a quick walk, and I had my phone if anyone needed me.

I had found a path that looked a little familiar to me, but i'm not sure why, or how. Part of me said i shouldn't take it, but I decided to go against my brain and took the path anyways. A few miles in the path had ended, now normally this is where i would turn back. But my curiosity got the better of me and i pushed my way through some bushes and past some trees. when i finally got through i was at a cliff just over the ocean. I sat down and watched the rest of the sun rise. I suddenly heard a noise behind me. At first it was just some bushes ruffling, then i started to hear voices. lots of them, and they were getting closers. i quickly stood up and had my hand on my cell ready to call for help if i needed to. A few short seconds later a group emerged from the trees, then froze when they saw me.

At first I was scared, with a million worst case scenarios running through my head, then I took a second look at them, and their attire. All of them were wearing swimming trunks. Now I'm sure to any normal person, just what i was wearing was questionable, but I didn't plan on swimming this time year.

"Tabby?" I heard a familiar voice say as he made his way to the front of the group. "What are you doing here?" It was Seth. I stared at him, confused and nervous.

"I woke up early and felt like going for a hike." I responded when i was able to find my voice again. "What are you doing out here...or planning on doing?" I then asked. Behind Seth I could hear the rest of the group start to whisper, some of them had looks that all said, 'crapwhatdowesay.' Seth however, was silent.

All of a sudden a strong cold wind hit and goose bumps took shape on my bare legs. " Aren't you freezing?" Seth asked, a hint of worry in his voice. I didn't even realize how cold it was until he asked, cuz right then a violent shiver went through my body.

"I guess i am. maybe hiking in shorts wasn't my brightest idea ever." I said with a giggle, as another violent shiver traveled through my body. Then i suddenly remembered what they were all wearing. "Were you guys planning on swimming or something? how are you not freezing?" They all looked at me, again with a look that said 'crapwhatdowetellher.'

"Were all really warm blooded, so were not to cold." Said a bigger guy behind Seth. I just gave them all a look that said 'uh-huhsurenotbuyingit.'

"Yea, unless we've all turned into snakes or something I'm pretty sure were all warm blooded. But just standing here, I'm turning into a Popsicle." I said jokingly, some laughed others didn't. Another violent shiver hit me then Seth spoke up.

"Well, we don't want you turning into a Popsicle, how about i walk you home?" I smiled and looked at the ground trying to hide my blush and mumbled a low OK. I've noticed I look at the ground a lot when i blush, which was a lot around Seth. I guess that my way of trying to avoid further embarrassment. I walked past the group with Seth behind me. I could hear some of the guys whispering as we walked past them, but i paid no attention to them,I was to busy filling giddy cuz Seth was walking ME home.

Seth and I hung out a lot during my visit. We were almost inseparable. I also got to know his friends pretty well to. there a fun bunch to be with. On my last night there Seth had invited me to a bon fire down at the beach. I questions his sanity at first because it would be freezing. But he reassured me that i wouldn't freeze to death, so i agreed to go.

A few hours later i was on a 3way call with Harley and Roxie, trying to decide what to wear.

"Ok, Tabs, first we need to establish if this counts as a first date or not." Roxie said, my phone was on speaker and sitting on my bed as i threw clothes from my suite case and on to my bed.

"I don't know, I don't even know if he likes me like that."

"But you like him, right?" Harley asked.

"Yea I guess, but what's there to start, I'm going back to Seattle, and who knows if I'll see him again the next time i come back, if i even come back."

"Hey Tabs, do you still have my brown tank top?"

"Not with me Rox. Although that would be really cute tonight. UGH!" I sighed picking up another t-shirt and throwing it on my bed. "You guys, i didn't plan on meeting cute guys while I was here, i don't have anything cute with me." I flopped down on my bed.

"What about that one black and white tank top/dress thing you have. You could wear that with a pair of jeans." Harley spoke up.

"DUDE! Harl, i think your genius." I said i started digging thought my suite case and found the top she was talking about. I put it on and put on my tightest pair of flair jeans with my black converse.I also put on a short black cardi, mostly just to cover my shoulders. I then grabbed my phone and ran into the bathroom to do hair and makeup. After an hour of straighten my hair and touching my make up I decided i was ready for my 'notsureifitcountsdate'. "Ok guys, i'm gonna go, he should be here any minute."

"OK, have fun, but don't do anything I wouldn't do." Roxie said.

"Yea, and call us with details tomorrow." Harley chimed in.

"OK first off, Rox, what wouldn't you do? And duh, i'll probably call later tonight with the dets." we all laughed then said our I love yous and good byes at once. I stuffed my phone in my pocket and grabbed my small black purse while running out the door before anyone could ask any questions.

I wasn't waiting long before I saw Seth walking up the drive way. I instantly lit up when i saw him smiled when i saw his expression to what i was wearing.

"Wow Tabby. you ...(stares)...look great."

I blushed,again looking at the ground to try and hide this blush, and giggled, "Thanks, I just threw it together." I didn't mention the part where i threw it together like two hours ago. We walked together to the beach where we met up with his friends along with other people from around the res.

The bonfire was fun. There was tons of food, mostly meat so i skipped on eating, and there was story telling and games. Most of the stories were about wolves and vampires and other monsters, although during the vampire stories flashes of one of my old favorite TV shows, Buffy, kept popping in my head and i would laugh randomly thinking of what Buffy and the gang would do. I spent most of my time with Seth, but then him and Jake started to wrestle so i just sat out and watched. I was laughing at the sight of Jake getting his butt kicked by Seth, and then Embry sat down next to me.

"Don't be fooled by his size, Seth has some moves."

"Yea, you should always watch out for the small ones." He looked at my kinda funny then i added, "Our bite is worse then our bark." He laughed at my joke.

"He likes you, you know. like, he likes you a lot. He hasn't actually admitted it yet to the rest of us, but we know." I fell silent, but kept watching Seth and Jake going at it in the sand. "Do you like him?" Embry then asked.

"Yea, but it doesn't do any good to try and start anything, I'm leaving tomorrow. and i don't know when I'll be back again." I said, a small tear escaped my eye. I looked at the ground to try and hide it, but I'm sure he saw it. I felt like I just broke my own heart, from something that never even started. _'Stupid Tabby'_ I thought. "Excuse me." I said getting up and walking away. I didnt want Seth to see me sad. I didnt want him to remember me like that.

I was heading home but stopped when I heard my name being called. I turned to look and saw Seth running towards me. When he reached me i didn't even get a word out before his lips came crashing into mine. It took me a second to realize what was happening, and to figure out that i didn't want it to stop. Seth was kissing me, and it was like no kiss I've ever felt. There was so much passion and longing. I kissed him back with everything I had. We finally separated our lips from each other but kept our foreheads together.

"Tabby, I love you I've loved you since we met in the coffee shop I don't know how to explain but I never want anything bad to happen to you and I never want to see you leave." He whispered all in one breath. It reminded me of how i talk when I'm really excited. and the fact that i understood everything he said didn't even phase me. I just smiled like a big goof ball.

My brain started screaming: '_TABBY, you're leaving tomorrow, you can't start anything tonight.' _

While my heart was screaming: _'TABBY, TELL HIM YOU LOVE HIM TOO, TELL HIM YOU DON'T WANT TO LEAVE, YOU WANT TO BE WITH HIM FOREVER.' _since my heart was screaming louder then my brain i decided to listen to it.

"Seth, I love you too, and I can't live without you. I don't want to leave tomorrow."

"Then don't leave. Stay with me." he begged. My heart was beating a million beats per second. I thought i was going to pass out from lack of oxygen, since i was apparently holding my breath. When i finally was able to take a breath, i nodded in agreement. Seth wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into another passionate kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. Then a thought occurred to me.

'_What do I tell Roxie and Harley?'_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

Harley/ Main Character's POV:

I was flying. I was flying lowly, just above a thick green sea of moss and ferns, with the morning breeze sweet and cool upon my face.

The world was a blur of emerald and jade washed in the golden light of the coming dawn.

But as I rushed past, I soon realized that I wasn't flying at all, but running. I was bounding through a forest on all floors, with the ground soft beneath my paws.

And as I came to this realization, there came a loud peal of thunder.

_Whurrr._

It was so sudden and strange, that I actually paused to listen, cocking my head to the side as it came again.

_Whurrr._

This meant something, I know it did. But what? What did this insistent buzzing mean?

_Whurrr._

It took me a moment to recognize the noise. And another for me to open my eyes and reach over to grab my cell phone from my bedside table, daylight burning my eyes.

It took a second for me to recognize my surroundings, despite their glaring familiarity.

I was in my bedroom, with it's sea-green popcorn walls, bright bronze ancient bed frame, and plum colored bed sheets, with opaque light filtering through the same old aged yellowing lace curtains. The same room I'd had for the last eighteen, nearly nineteen years.

_Whurr._

It was morning, I knew that much. Far too early for any one to be calling me without a damn good reason.

_Whur- _"Hello…?" I all but growled into the tiny machine as I covered my eyes in my arm.

"OHMIFUCKINGGOD!" the high-pitched tone of my best friend, Roxanne Hartman caused me to bolt upright in bed, despite my purple colored cocoon of blankets and sheets.

"Rox? What? What happened?" I demanded in a dead panic, already clawing off my blankets and leaping out of bed to find clothes, ready to be in my car within two minutes.

"I'MGOINGTOKILLTABITHA!" Roxie screamed in absolute fury and I paused my frantic search for pants.

I stood slowly, silently counting to ten in my head so as not to completely shatter my melodramatic friend's ear drum from my own scream of anger. "Let me get this straight…" I began slowly, pinching the skin between my eyebrows brow as to ward off an on-coming head ache, "You called me at," I snatched up my alarm clock, "_seven twenty-seven_ in the morning, on a _Saturday_, to tell me you had a fight with Tabby?" I seethed as I slapped the alarm clock back on to my bedside table with a loud smack.

My anger didn't even phase Roxie in the slightest as she quickly retorted back, "Harley, did you even read her text?" she demanded critically, her tone practically causing me to bleed.

"No, being since I was dead asleep until you called." I said rather coolly, but then concern wormed it's way into my tone as I continued, "Why? What's going on?"

I heard Roxie take a deep breath and I suddenly felt like the bottom of my stomach had given way, leaving a cold numbness in it's wake.

Dozens of worst-case-scenarios flashed before my unseeing eyes. Tabby lying in a pool of her own blood, her hazel eyes forever frozen in a scream of agony, Tabby shrouded in a deathly white hospital gown, with plastic tubes snaking out of her nose and mouth, down her thin tanned arms, Tabby covering her face, as sobs wracked her tiny frame.

In reality only a second had passed and Roxie was speaking again.

"Dude… Tabby's quit school to go run off with some guy she met a week ago."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Two

I was gonna kill her. Tabitha Lisette Jones was going to die by my hands.

My mind was already going a hundred miles an hour by the time Rox finished the sentence, with clothes flying around my room once more as I frantically searched for clothes to wear and to pack. It wasn't even a question of if we were going to go chew out Tabby and bring her back, simply a matter of how long it would take us to get there.

Mentally, I was already flying north towards Seattle, where Tabby's neck was waiting to be throttled. We would be gone two days at the very least and I'd be back before my Tuesday-Thursday Drama Class, so there was no need to call Mary, my dear-heart of an instructor.

Oh, wait.. It was president's day weekend… No school for the week. Right.

"Should we take-" I started but a sudden honk from outside my window answered my question. I paused my flurry of clothes-flinging to lean over my desk to look out my window.

Roxie's maroon 1991 Ford truck was just pulling into my driveway, idling loudly in the early morning fog. "You were saying?" Rox quipped half teasingly as she waved up at me.

"Smart-ass." I mumbled as I resumed my search for clean clothes.

It was barely two minutes later when I was sliding in next to Rox, haphazardly chucking my duffle bag into the back space, where my friend's bag was already shoved. I kept my backpack filled with my entertainment by my feet.

Our eyes met and Roxie's usually warm chocolate brown eyes mirrored my own grim expression. Rox's dark brown shoulder length hair was pulled back into a messy pony tail, her flawless skin still amazingly tanned for the beginning of February, but that was thanks to her part Cherokee heritage. It also helped with her five-foot-eleven height. She was dressed in a red and black geometrical patterned blouse with a black belt accentuating her well defined waist and dark washed jeans, with her faithful black leather jacket strewn over her headrest.

Roxanne was not a typical beauty, as she far surpassed the term average with her long heart shaped face, high cheekbones, thin lips and sharply shaped nose. When she smiled, weaker women in the vicinity began to squirm. But there was no smile today as she squared her shoulders and set her jaw. The purest picture of determination.

"Ready?" she asked me neutrally as she shifted into reverse out of my driveway.

"As I'll ever be." I muttered as I buckled my seatbelt and settled in for the long drive ahead of us.

It was a few minutes later when we sped past a gas station that a thought struck me.

"Um.. Dude, I know we're in a hurry and all, but.. Do you expect to get very far on only seven miles to the gallon, on a minimum wage, college student budget?" I asked meekly as I cringed in anticipation of being struck.

Roxie's menacing smile did nothing to assuage my fears, since it was more like a lion bearing it's fangs than an expression of mirth. "Well, we'll just have to stop by the bank then, won't we?" she asked sweetly, which was Roxie-Code for '_bring it up again and I will hurt you' _. "And for your information, it's twelve miles to the gallon, not seven." she added as she stroked her aged silver steering wheel lovingly.

Luckily she didn't see my silent expression of sarcasm, or else I might've been hurt severely. But, I couldn't help muttering a quiet "Planet killer." under my breath, just loud enough so that Roxie could hear me.

"Tree hugger." Roxie muttered back in the same tone, her eyes not leaving the road. But we both smiled at the familiar bickering. Then we settled into our own thoughts, as I replayed the pseudo-fight in my head.

Hm… Lion… Fangs… Claws… Animal… Running on all floors. Flashes of a distant dream teased my sense of déjà vu. Had I been dreaming of something like that? I remember running… I had been going so fast… I had felt so free, the sensation made all the sweeter by the fleetingness of the images, like a phantom wind blowing across my face, filled with the scent of wildflowers.

Suddenly I saw a flash of caramel colored skin wave out in front of my pensive stare.

I started from my reverie with a jolt. Roxanne was glancing concernedly at me from the corner of her eyes, while still trying to keep her gaze on the road. We were already at the drive through ATM at the bank.

"Harl? You okay?" she asked me gently, concern causing her brows to furrow a little. "You were kinda spacing out."

I smiled weakly, "A strange dream, that's all." I explained with a shrug. As Roxie was making her withdrawal, I glanced in my side-view mirror. A young woman with a pale round face with a spiky auburn pixie cut, large blue-green eyes that liked to change colors depending on mood, a short small nose, and thin lips looked back at me, her expression slightly worried.

With a sigh, I looked down at my own attire, a Kelly green tee shirt underneath a black lace ruched over-shirt, light blue jeans, black tennis shoes, with my grey pea-coat across my lap. My crescent moon pendant winked up at me from my chest and in a nervous habit, I clutched the pendant and ran my fingers over it's smooth surface, the sensation calming me somewhat.

Where Roxanne had her undoubtedly feminine looks, I tended to err on the side of androgynous, with my broad shoulders, deep voice, and preference towards short hair.

But I rather preferred it that way, as it only seemed fitting considering that my own sexual identity was a bit androgynous in and of it's self.

While most people are on either side of the proverbial fence, I straddled it. I was attracted to both men and women. And sometimes, men and women were attracted to me. It all depended on the person, really.

I'd had a couple of boyfriends and girlfriends respectively, but, with all of them, something just seemed to be… Missing. It always seemed like we would be better off as friends instead, or we just didn't… Click. There wasn't any passion between the two of us.

Or there were the girls who found out the hard way that they weren't as open minded as they though, using me as a means of experimentation. I didn't really mind that too much, at least now they knew. I found it fairly amusing, in fact.

And of course there were the girls who were experimenting with me because their own boyfriends urged them to, just to see two girls making out. Needless to say, that I minded. I usually saw through those schemes right away and had a stern talk with both parties. Selfish pricks… Couldn't they just rent a Porno and save me the trouble?

But even after my select relationships, I could still honestly say that I'd never been in love. There had been mutual attraction, sure, but nothing as all consuming and passionate as love. Maybe I wasn't able to love? Who knows. It just hadn't happened yet. I wasn't too worried.

Tabby, though… Her batting average wasn't too great… I don't know how or why, but Tabby was a prick-magnet. Every guy she fell for (and fell hard, mind you) ended up either being an use-'em-and-lose-'em asshole, a stalker, or a control freak. They just gravitated to her. She had been hurt so many times…

Which is why both Roxanne and I were currently speeding down the I-5 northbound to Seattle.

We were like sisters, the three of us. The Three Amigos, I had called us when we had been in elementary school together. We had all met in first grade, on the school playground and we had been friends ever since, twelve years later. You hurt one of us, you deal with all three.

Both Roxie and I were particularly protective of Tabby though, considering that she was the smallest and most innocent of our trio.

Even the very thought of Tabby being hurt again was enough to make my grip on my coat tighten until my knuckles were white against my skin and set my jaw until it hurt.

Almost instinctively, Roxanne laid a hand on mine and squeezed. "Don't worry. We'll find her, bring her back, and then we'll chew her out. Okay?" she assured me brightly as she removed her hand to keep on driving.

I smiled grimly back at her. "Right."

It was a few more minutes of silence before I was digging through my backpack until I found the right cord I was looking for.

"Whatcha' doin'?" Rox asked curiously as she glanced over at me as I untangled the cord from the others in the pocket of my bag.

I didn't answer as I plugged one end of the cord into Rox's cigarette lighter and the other into my MP3 player. I set the dated radio to the right station and suddenly the truck was filled with the sound of Panic! At the Disco's 'We're So Starving' , despite the age of the truck and it's terrible speakers.

"I got an early birthday present for my self." I said with a proud smile. The car adapter was the product of my very first paycheck from the bookstore I had recently got a job from. As luck would have it though, the bookstore was closed during the long weekend, so I wasn't going to miss any of my shifts while I was in Seattle.

Roxie rolled her eyes, but still smiled at my spaz-like glee.

After about two hours or so, we stopped in a small town to grab a bite to eat, since neither one of us had eaten breakfast. We headed into a tiny market to grab a six-pack of bottled water, a bag of apples, two sandwiches, one turkey club for me, and an egg salad for Roxie, and a bag of barbecue potato chips. Not really a typical breakfast, but it would keep us going.

I eyed the egg salad sandwich dubiously from the corner of my eye. "So, I take it the vegetarian thing is going well still?" I asked as I took a bite of my own sandwich, filled with the dreaded flesh of an animal.

We were taking a break in the market's parking lot, since eating and driving with one hand wasn't all that conducive to safety.

My tall slender friend nodded happily through her own bite of food. "Best decision I ever made in my life." she said proudly after she swallowed. "You sure you don't want a bite?" she asked shoving the mass of yellow under my nose for a moment before she realized her folly, "Oh, eggs, right, sorry." she muttered as she sheepishly retracted her arm and her offer.

I barely resisted the urge to gag at the pungent smell that had been shoved in my face. "It's okay.. Long as I don't smell or eat the suckers, we'll be okay…" I mumbled as I fumbled with rolling down the window. I leaned my head against the side of the car, letting the cool damp breeze rid the car of any lingering scent of the eggs and ease my rolling stomach.

After a bad experience a few years ago with scrambled eggs, I hadn't been able to stand so much as the smell of eggs, much less actually consume them. The thought practically made my stomach churn.

"So… Should we call Tabby?" I asked quietly as I took a sip from my bottle of water.

Licking her fingers clean of the yellow-mush, Roxanne frowned in thought. "Probably, since she didn't really say where in Seattle she was." she muttered as she fished her cell phone out of her jean pocket.

"Or if she was in Seattle in general…" I muttered darkly as I rubbed my eyes while the weight of my words settled in. We might've just driven around one hundred miles for absolutely nothing. But, I guess that was our own fault for just jumping into this without thinking first.

"D-Don't say that…" Roxanne whined as she squirmed at the thought. "She could still be there…" she almost pleaded weakly.

I gestured for her to prove me wrong, to call Tabby and see.

Hesitantly, Roxie pressed the call button and held the phone to her ear, as if it were a poisonous animal bound and determined to bite her.

It rung a few times just before Roxanne's face broke out into a blissfully happy smile. "Tabs! Hey, how're you? Good. Good. I'm swell, thanks. Say, I was just wondering where exactly you were. Well, me and Harl were thinking of visiting you soon. Yeah, seriously. So you're…" the pause nearly killed me, until Roxie burst out "Where? La Push? Where the hell is La Push?" she paused again and her desperate anger melted away. "On the coast? You mean the pacific coast, right? In Northern Washington? You're sure? Okay, just checking. So, what's the address again?" Roxanne hastily motioned for a pen and paper and I scrambled for both items in my purse, she quickly scribbled down the address on a napkin "Uh huh. Uh huh. Right, got it. Uh.. Cuz.. Well.. We're already on our way, that's why. So, uh, see you when we get there! Bye!" Roxie hastily flipped her phone closed.

Despite the hasty dismount, her plan had worked. At least now we had a secure destination.

Around three hours later, we pulled into a tiny Indian Reservation on the pacific coast. It didn't take us very long to find the house that matched the address we had been given.

The house was on the small side, with grey paint and dark shingles. Tabby's dark green jeep was parked on the lawn.

I was barely out of the truck before I was tackle-hugged with the force of a small cannon. "OHMIGODHIYOUGUYS!" Tabby all but squealed into my ear as she clung to me and bounced in pure-Tabby-style-glee. Years of hearing Tabby-speech had conditioned both Rox and I to understand her light-speed way of talking when she was overly excited.

"Uh.. Hello to you too?" I almost asked as I awkwardly hugged my tiny friend.

Tabby looked the same as ever with her chin length golden brown hair, tanned skin, golden-green hazel eyes, cute button nose and small mouth. She was still the same curvy petite thing I remembered. Having her in my arms just punctuated how much I had missed having her around. She was even wearing her typical Heritage High School Bowling team sweatshirt and baggy blue jeans.

Tabby beamed at me just before she whirled on her heel and tackle-hugged Roxanne, squealing again. "I'msogladyou'rehere!" she cried as she hugged Roxie's torso, because of the massive height differences between the two.

Rox and I shared a bewildered look over top our petite friend's head that said the same exact thing:

She's HAPPY to see us?

Tabby soon answered our question for us, "Now you guys can meet Seth!" she exclaimed blissfully as she turned to link both of our arms with her own.

Another shared look, this time it said:

We get to meet Seth… Oh joy.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Three

We were both lead into the small house, where on the couch there was a boy. A very buff looking boy. He was tall and kind of gangly looking, but there was no denying the muscles forming on this kid's russet colored chest and arms…

Oh, did I mention that this guy was shirtless? Because he was.

Beginning of February, in the northern most part of Washington state, and this kid was shirtless.

He looked kind though. There was just something in this guy's dark eyes that screamed gentility, and more than just a touch of mischievousness.

The boy instantly stood when we came through the door and hastily pulled on a tired looking red shirt that matched his basketball shorts, as he smiled awkwardly at the three of us.

"Hi. I'm Seth Clearwater, I'm the big bad guy who stole Tabby away." he introduced himself lightly as he offered me his hand, while Tabby disentangled her self from us to practically launch her self into Seth's waiting arms.

There was no disputing the loving gleam in Tabby's eyes as she laid her head on Seth's ample torso. She had fallen ass over tea-kettle for this guy.

Seth grinned at me, "You're Harley Noble, right?"

I tried my best to smile at Seth's terminology, as I took the boy's large hand and recoiled at the sheer amount of heat that this kid was producing. "Dude! You're burning up!" I exclaimed as I rubbed my hand gingerly.

A look of sheepishness passed over Seth's gentle features as he took back his hand and rubbed his neck. "Yeah… I'm a bit hot-blooded, is all." he muttered quietly as his eyes scanned the room to look anywhere but in my eyes.

I knew from experience that someone always unconsciously looks down to the left after they've just said a lie.

Seth had just lied to me… But why? If he was sick, he could've just said so, so we wouldn't have come by here. Why lie about something as trivial as body heat…? It took every ounce of my willpower not to call him on the lie. I had just met him, there was no need to make a scene.

So I pressed the slight ire I felt to the back of my mind for now.

Roxie offered her hand to the boy "I'm Roxie Hartman, it's nice to meet you." she introduced her self, but I didn't miss the way her eyes widened a fraction when her skin met Seth's.

It wasn't just me, she felt it too. Hot-blooded just didn't cover it.

"So, why don't you two tell us how the two of you met?" I asked with a smile, feeling very much like I was Tabby's overprotective father or something as we gravitated towards the couch in the front room.

Tabby and Seth glanced at each other and shared a look so sweet and loving that I felt the urge to look away, like I was looking in on a moment that was meant to be just for the two of them.

"It might sound crazy, but it was love at first sight, really." Tabby muttered quietly, almost as if Rox and I weren't even in the room as she gazed into Seth's eyes. "Elle, my uncle's mom, had taken me for a shopping trip to Port Angles, and I was getting coffee and it just happened…" she said breathlessly, "There was this connection the second we laid eyes on each other… It was like electricity… Going through my spine…" she began to murmur as her eyes became hooded and she started to lean towards Seth and he towards her. Their lips poised to lock.

Oh dear god. Not here! NOT IN FRONT OF ME! I WILL NOT HAVE THEM MAKE OUT IN FRONT OF ME!

"AHEM!" Rox and I cleared our throats loudly just as the two of them were about to completely suck face right there, on the same couch as Roxie and I.

The two lovebirds actually jumped, like they had forgotten that the both of us were in the room in with them, less than a foot away. They both smiled sheepishly back at us, their arms still around one another.

"You were saying?" I prompted weakly as I edged away from the physical couple, leaning into Roxie as I did so.

"Well, that's it, basically. After that, I couldn't just leave him here, three hours away. I don't think I could take it!" Tabby explained, her voice going up an octave in distress. "So I told Auntie and Uncle I was quitting school and I'm going to find a job and an apartment in Forks, if I can't find a place here in La Push."

Red flags and warning bells were currently going off in my brain.

She couldn't leave him. She didn't think she could take it. This was so very beyond bad. But she honestly did seem to love him, and he her…

My brain hurt. Getting Tabby back now seemed infinitely more complicated than it had seemed this morning…

Suddenly Tabby broke my train of thought. "So where are you two planning on staying?" she asked abruptly. Probably trying to get us to leave so they could get back to playing tonsil-hockey, I betted…

But both Rox and I were silent as the grave. We had been banking on staying in Seattle, where hotels were plenty, but now, here in La Push…. We were kinda screwed.

"Why don't you two stay with us?" Seth asked with a smile.

"Seriously? You wouldn't mind?" Rox asked, voicing the same disbelief that I was feeling.

Seth smiled even wider, his pearly white teeth contrasting greatly with his russet skin. "Friends of Tabby are friends of ours. I'm sure my mom and sister won't mind, people tend to come and go through this place a lot as it is." he laughed as he stood, presumably to let his mother know about her two new house-guests.

"Oh, Seth, they should totally come to the bon-fire tonight too!" Tabby insisted as she held Seth's massive hand in her own, like she didn't want to let him go.

A look of inspiration washed over Seth's pretty features, "Yeah! You guys have to come tonight! It'll be a blast!" he positively gushed as he bounced on his bare heels in excitement. He kissed Tabby's knuckles and ran out the door "I gotta tell the guys!" he called over his shoulder.

I arched an eyebrow. "The guys?" I asked dryly, turning to look at Tabby who was still smiling after Seth, a goofy love struck smile on her features.

"His friends." she simply muttered as she stood and went into the kitchen. "You guys'll like them, they're hilarious." she giggled as both Roxie and I followed her into the tiny kitchen. "And man can they eat…"

"Are we gonna get roped into blind dates?" Roxie asked uncertainly as she hopped up on the counter, while Tabby began to dry and put away the dishes that were in the dishwasher.

I leaned on the cupboards, crossing my arms over my chest, an expectant look on my face.

Tabby actually looked a bit sheepish as she looked at the two of us, "Umm… Maybe?" she laughed uncertainly as she dried a cup.

Both Rox and I rolled our eyes and made similar noises of utmost glee.

"So.. He seems nice…" I started neutrally, as Tabby stopped rinsing to look at me, "You two plannin' on going to school together?" I asked carefully as I gauged my short friend's reaction.

Tabby's eyes went instantly back to the cup. "E-Eventually…" she muttered quietly, but the damage was done as both Rox and I pounced, saying "OH MY GOD."

"How old exactly is he?"

"What do you mean 'eventually'?

"Seventeen…"Tabby mumbled, her gaze down by her feet, her cherubic face crimson, "Seth is seventeen years old…"

It took a moment before the shock wore off enough for a giggle to escape my lips. The raspy giggle turned into a chuckle. The chuckle turned into a full blown cackle, until I was hunched over, slapping my knee, with tears streaming down my face, gasping for breath. "C-cradle robber!" I cackled, just as Roxie started leaning on me for support, because she was laughing just as hard as I was.

"Cougar!" Roxie gasped as she clung to me, my ribs aching like no other.

"C'mon, guys! Quit it!" Tabby moaned as she covered her face. "I knew you two were gonna give me crap about this!" she half whined, half laughed.

"Damn-damn right we were!" I gasped as I wiped my eyes. "Dude, he's a baby!"

"You dirty, dirty girl!" Rox cackled. And that just set me off again, and this time, Tabby joined in our laughter, until the three of us were on the floor of the kitchen, gasping for breath, leaning on one another.

"So… What's this bon-fire thing you were talking about?" I asked as I used the side of the counter to help me stand.

"It's a big get together for the people on the Res, there's food and story telling and stuff, it's supposed to be a lot of fun." Tabby answered as she stood as well.

"Sounds cool to me." I muttered as I stretched. I eyed Tabby thoughtfully as she went back to the dishes, her eyes soft as she sighed to her self almost wistfully. There was no denying the look in her eye, this time. With every other boyfriend I had met, there had been this sort of desperation in Tabby's smile, like she was trying terribly to make this guy the one. But now, there was no desperation, only serene contentedness. Tabby looked as if she had finally found some peace in this guy Seth. "You really love him, don't you?" I asked quietly as Roxie shot me an incredulous look.

Tabby's smile didn't falter as she turned to face me again, "You know, I think I really do, this time. Seth is the real deal this time." she stated with a blissful smile as she set down the cup.

I smiled warmly back at her and swept my tiny friend into my arms, "And he better take damn good care of you, or I'm coming back with a shovel." I muttered sweetly into Tabby's thick brown hair as she giggled.

"Aww! Group hug!" Roxie cried just as she tackle-hugged the both of us.

"ACK! Hey, BALANCE! BALANCE!"

Suddenly the linoleum rushed up to greet me personally as I fell face first into the floor, in a tangle of arms and legs.

And in a heap of bodies, is how both Roxie and I met "the guys".

I had no idea anyone was there until I heard a low wolf whistle from somewhere behind me, and somehow, some way, when all three of us turned to see who was there, all of our heads bashed together with better timing than the three stooges, and Roxie's nose got bashed into the side of my head.

"Ooh! Hahaha, that really hurt!… Oh wait… Am I..? Yup, I'm bleeding." Roxie laughed as she clutched her nose from underneath my arm, where blood was just beginning to drip.

Well… Shit. That wasn't good. I began to try to disentangle my self to help Roxie find a paper towel to stop the bleeding before it got onto her blouse.

Then suddenly, I felt a weight being lifted off my legs and I turned just in time to see a massive panic-stricken boy with longish black hair and copper skin scoop Roxie into his arms and practically rip a door off it's hinges, all the while muttering "." in Tabby-speech.

There were two other burly looking guys lingering in the hall way, each with copper skin, short dark hair, dark eyes, and bulging muscles. And both of them were smirking knowingly for some reason.

"Um. Hello…? I'm fine, really, it's okay, you really don't have help me…" I heard Roxie protest feebly from what I could only assume was the bathroom.

But the panicky voice of the guy overpowered her, "Dude, Quil, don't just stand there, get me a freaking icepack or something while I try to stop the bleeding!" he barked poking his head out of the bathroom quickly.

Both Tabby and I scurried to our feet just as the shorter of the two massive guys took two steps towards the freezer to grab the said cold-pack, chuckling.

After a moment, Seth came skidding into the house, his dark eyes searching frantically until he found Tabby next to me. "What happened?" he asked the taller boy in the hallway.

"Looks like you aren't the only lucky one this week." the boy chuckled cryptically, nodding his head in the direction of the bathroom.

Seth poked his head into the bathroom, where he half winced-half laughed. "Tough break, man." he muttered sympathetically, and I heard Roxie go "Huh?" hopelessly.

Quil, the boy with the ice pack stepped into the bathroom and handed the cold pack over, while taking Seth out of the bathroom.

I was a fair bit confused my self, but as I turned to Tabby for an answer, she quickly avoided my gaze and walked back towards where Seth was standing.

"We had a bit of an accident, that's all." she explained with a laugh, like she was in on this giant joke that apparently had only Rox and I in the dark.

There was something going on here… I just knew it.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Four

So, apparently in the less than five minutes she was being nursed back to health, Roxie had fallen in deep smit with the now less panic-stricken boy who's name I learned was Embry Call.

Or at least, it looked to me like she was trying to fight said smit.

Though she'd never admit it out loud, Roxie was a bit of a commitment-a-phob. But that was understandable. Rox had been burned pretty badly by her first love, Daniel Knight. He had said forever, but that all changed the second he left for college. And she hadn't wanted a real relationship since.

So now, there was this like.. Unspoken battle going on between Embry Call and Roxanne Hartman.

Embry was staring at Roxie like she was the Goddess Aphrodite in human form, his dark eyes all but glowing with wonder and, dare I say it, love.

While Roxie was trying to look anywhere but Embry Call's glowing gaze, but I caught her covertly stealing a glance at him when she thought she was being sneaky.

Despite the fact that this was mildly entertaining to watch, like a secret ping-pong match, I felt ill. And incredibly awkward.

Because I think I was possibly the only single person left in this Reservation. Everyone was coupled up, except for the really massive boy named Jake, and the one who had fetched the icepack for Embry called Quil. But they both didn't seem interested in little old me.

Maybe they were gay?

Not that I'm as arrogant as to think that just because they weren't interested in me that they were automatically queer, but I had a feeling that they really weren't interested in dating in general. There was no 'single-guy-on-the-prowl' vibe from them. And there was that intense closeness that emanated from all of 'the guys'.

So there I sat at the kitchen table, between the two couples, or couple and pseudo-couple, as it were. Roxie to my right and Tabby to my left, with their respective male counterparts across from them. I felt very out of place between the two pairs, the only female in the room not making, or trying not to make kiss-y face at someone.

Unfortunately, Jake and Quil had made their escapes after the initial introduction, saying they had to meet up with a few more of their friends before the bonfire tonight, all while smiling knowingly at the two new lovebirds.

"So…" I started abruptly as I slapped my palm on the table top lightly, breaking the (*gag*) tender silence shared by everyone at the table. I was surprised I wasn't being given the sudden look of death. "Seth… Where do you keep your showers?" I asked brightly, trying to cover up the fact that I was trying desperately to get away from the awkward seating arrangement.

I was so busy trying to keep up the chipper act that I completely missed the look of absolute terror that Roxie was trying to convey to me silently, until she hastily grabbed my wrist. "I-I'll help you get your stuff!" she hastily offered as she all but leapt out of her chair, dragging me with her, out of the house and into the front yard, where a light drizzle had begun.

"Dude! Where the hell is the fire?" I demanded crossly as I massaged my abused wrist as soon as I had torn it from her painful grasp.

Roxie's flushed and anxious face was inches from my own, her steely grip back on me, grabbing me by the shoulders. "You can't leave me in there!" she hissed desperately, her brown eyes burning and pleading into mine.

"And why can't I?" I asked slowly, carefully, as I gently pried Roxie's tense fingers off the now tender and bruised flesh of my shoulders. I could already feel ten little tiny bruises forming where her fingers had been.

"I…I can't be alone with that guy!" my tall panicky friend muttered as her dark eyes darted back towards the house behind me. "I feel weird when he's around, like, my heart beats a million times per second, and there's butterflies in my stomach, and, and my palms get all sweaty, and when he looks at me, I feel like I'm gonna faint or something! You can't tell me that's normal!" she accused as her voice kept on going higher and higher as her desperation peaked.

I deadpanned as I looked up at Roxie, "Yanno, it kinda sounds to me like you have a serious case of the smits." I said flatly, thoroughly exasperated by Roxie's classic commit-a-phob symptoms. How many great guys had she let slip through her fingers because of this crap? I had lost count.

I watched as Rox's desperation melted away into that of a look of pure confusion and vulnerability. "The smits?" she echoed in a small voice as her chocolate eyes went wide.

It was all I could do not to roll my eyes. I took a deep breath and laid a hand on her bony shoulder, "Yes, the smits. You, my dear, are full of smit. You are smitten with Embry Call." I informed her with a solemn nod of my head.

Then, just as I expected, I saw a look of realization pass over Roxie's features, but just as quickly as it had come, it was gone, completely blocked off by the wall Roxie had put up. "Nah ah. No way. There's no way I…" she practically choked on the word "Lo-ike, like a guy I just met ten minutes ago. It's just too weird and so not me." she affirmed, but I had the feeling the person she was really trying to convince was herself.

Plus there was the whole fact that her face was beginning to match the shade of red in her shirt, that was kind of a dead-giveaway.

I sighed and shook my head, smiling, "Whatever you say, Rox, whatever you say. Just go back in there before the poor guy has a coronary, wouldja?" I asked, feeling a pair of eyes burning the back of my skull, and judging by the way Roxie's cheeks were suddenly flaming as well, it looked like I wasn't too far off in my guess.

I quickly nabbed my two bags from Rox's truck just as she waved nervously to Embry in the front window, who then ducked back behind the curtain.

There was no holding it back, I began busting up, leaning on the truck for support. The two of them were acting like grade-schoolers, it was too damn cute!

"Sh-shyaddup…" Roxie muttered quietly as she swatted me, which only made me laugh harder.

"Well, I'll leave the two of you to get things worked out," I chuckled, patting my poor denial-ridden friend on the shoulder, "I'm getting in the shower." I hoisted my bags higher up on my shoulder and made my way into the house, but once again, Roxie laid her mega-grip on my wrist, positively whimpering.

I sighed again, "Rox, dude, just go talk to him. It's not like you have to marry the guy!" I exclaimed throwing up my arm for emphasis.

Roxie's small squeak made me realize that perhaps this hadn't been the best thing to say, as well as the tightened grip on my wrist. I decided to change tactics, as I turned to my commitment-phobic friend, my tone gentler, "I'm getting in the shower, Rox. I'm going to still be in the house. You'll be fine, I promise."

Roxie nodded, trying to compose her self once again. "Right." she said firmly. "I can do this. I can go… Talk. With him. Yeah, yeah, I got this. Psh, I'm a big talker. I'll talk his friggin' ear off. He won't know what hit him, I'll be talking so much." she rallied her self, trying desperately to hide her growing unease with false bravado.

I smiled softly and looped my arm through hers as we both made our way back to the house.

As Rox went to sit down next to the anxious looking Embry, I couldn't help but smile to my self thoughtfully at their immediate chemistry, despite whatever phobia Roxie clung to. They just seemed… Right for one another. He was quiet and shy, she was loud and boisterous.

Maybe it would be this Embry fella that would bring an end to Rox's phobic ways.

I could only hope. With a secret smile on my lips, I went to go find my Host.

With a quick tutorial on the basic shower workings from Seth, I was ready to drown my stress in suds and screaming hot water.

Now, I suppose what happened next was partially my fault for being raised as practically an only child, with my older sister living in California predominately, and not having to really share my bathroom with anyone. Being as such, I have a tendency to not lock the bathroom door when I shower…

So, there I stood, in all my birth-day-suit glory, adjusting the shower curtain when the bathroom door suddenly burst open and in strode in the most beautiful human being I had ever laid eyes on in my life.

Hair the color of midnight that was styled into a messy pixie cut, flawless copper colored skin, an oval shaped face with a pointed chin, high cheek bones, a straight cut nose that most people would pay thousands to duplicate, soft, full looking lips, and eyes lashes that seemed like feather dusters framed the deepest brown eyes I've ever seen.

The girl was like an Native American Warrior Goddess, she was so tall and toned, her muscles incredibly evident underneath her almost sinfully thin white wife beater shirt and black yoga pants. Plus the fact that the shirt was made practically see-through by the sweat coming off of her body… Luckily there was a white sports bra underneath or else I think I might have swooned, or busted a blood vessel in my face from blushing, which ever came first.

It took me a second to come back to reality, where, in fact, I was standing buck-naked in front of this gorgeous creature. In a severely delayed reaction, I hastily yanked my towel off the rack and covered up, even though I knew the damage had been done already.

For obvious reasons, the girl in front of me took a moment to tear her eyes away from my vulnerable state of undress and returned her dark orbs to my face, her perfect features rearranged into the very picture of shock, with her pillow-y lips parted almost as wide as her eyes.

"Oh.. My.. God." she whispered slowly, the dull shock in her eyes quickly replaced by some unreadable emotion.

"Oh my god." I groaned, wanting desperately to melt into the floor, for more reasons that one… Back-peddle, Noble, I silently ordered myself, back-peddle like your life depends on it! "I'm sorry!" I blurted out pathetically, "I was, uh, going to, ah…" I sputtered, gesturing lamely to the tub behind me.

The beautiful girl nodded shakily, "Right." as she slowly started to back out of the suddenly incredibly small seeming bathroom.

"Unless you need to, of course!" I offered, gesturing to the slowly retreating girl.

A strange look of thoughtfulness passed over the girl's features for a second before she shook her head firmly, like she was trying to put some unwelcome thought from her mind, her cheeks coloring. "No," she refused with a hasty smile that nearly made me swoon again, "You go ahead, really. I'm.. I'm good." she muttered thoughtfully as she smiled softly to herself before turning to leave, but then she paused without turning. "My name's Leah, by the way. What's yours?" she asked gently as she kept her eyes to the hallway in front of her.

"Um.. Harley, Harley Noble." I muttered quietly as I stepped forward to shut the door behind her, but apparently Leah had the same idea as our hands touched accidentally on the door. A jolt of white-hot electricity ran from my finger tip all the way down my spine. I yanked my hand back, my cheeks flaming like the depths of hell.

Brown met blue as our eyes met once again. "Sorry." I mumbled apologetically once again as I shut the door, my heart beating a samba in my throat. Feeling suddenly short of breath, I turned to lean against the cool door. "Bloody hell." I breathed as I let the towel drop to the floor. Too hot, much too hot…

In all my eighteen, nearly nineteen years of life, I'd never felt as attracted to a person like I had just then. The intensity of the feeling practically winded me. It was like there had been this.. Magnetic draw between us, bound and determined to make us touch.

The spark, the passion, the missing piece that had left me unsatisfied in all my past relationships, that was it. It was like I had been waiting for Leah all this time, without consciously knowing it.

A song lyric from The Notorious Cherry Bombs instantly came to mind:

"_I didn't know your name_

_I've never seen your face_

_but I knew just the same_

_I was saving your place"_

…There had to be something in the water here, in La Push. Like, the fountain of sensuality, or something…

Despite this new theory, I set the water in the shower for the coolest setting. I had to cool down before I even took a step out of this bathroom… Too hot, much, much too hot…

And somewhere in the back of my mind, some irrelevant part of my brain did take notice at how Leah's soft skin had been burning under mine.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Five

After I finished washing up, I quickly got out of the shower, toweled off, and got back into my clothes. As I was combing out my short hair, there was a sharp knock on the bathroom door.

"Hey," I heard Roxie's voice call through the door, "You almost done? The guys wanna head to the beach soon."

"Yeah, I just gotta put some gunk in my hair and put my stuff away." I answered as I fished out the small container of hair wax out of my toiletries bag.

Roxie poked her head into the bathroom. "Gunk?" she asked confusedly.

I waved the container for emphasis and began working the wax into my slightly damp hair.

Roxie hopped up onto the counter next to me, a sly grin on her face. "You never use that stuff, so what's the occasion?" she asked with a waggle of her thin eyebrows. "You hoping to hook a La Push hottie?"

I smirked at her briefly, and my over-exuberant friend shrieked "EEK! You are, you naughty girl!" she crowed as she bounced in her seat. "Which is it? It's that Jake guy, right? The really huge one? Or the smaller one, Quil?"

"Not one you're thinking of." I muttered in a sing-song voice as I went back to working with the wax to make my hair the epitome of bed-head-sexiness.

Roxie cocked her head to the side, frowning in confusion, "Huh? Who else then?" she asked, then she whipped her head back around, back to the hallway, where I could only assume she had seen Leah go into her room. "No… Seth's sister? Really?" Roxie asked quietly in disbelief, then realization hit her like a ton of bricks, "Oh my god, did she walk in on you in the shower?" she hissed incredulously, her wide brown eyes growing wider.

I grinned sheepishly as I began piecing my hair into messy spikes, while my cheeks grew warmer at the very mention of the awkward, albeit sensual moment.

"Wow…" Roxie muttered, soaking in that bit of information, "So she saw everything, huh." she stated neutrally, gesturing to my now fully covered form.

"Uh huh." I answered in feinted nonchalance as I dug my make up out of my bag.

"You started stuttering like an idiot, huh."

"You would be correct, sir."

Roxie grinned and patted my shoulder reassuringly, "Well, happy hunting then." she laughed.

I smirked again, "Yeah, you too." I muttered teasingly as my friend blushed at the sudden turn in conversation.

"Yeah, right. See you downstairs." Rox muttered with a roll of her eyes as she hopped off the counter and left, but not before I saw a slight color flush her cheeks.

I chuckled to my self as I returned to the task at hand. I deftly swiped some chocolate colored eye-shadow on my lids and some eye liner on my bottom lashes and I was finished.

Though I was outwardly confident, inwardly, I was rather uncertain. Sure, Leah had been beyond gorgeous, there was no doubt about that, and there had been that initial… Spark between us, but I honestly had no idea if Leah was seeing someone already, or even if she was interested in other women to begin with!

But that intensity, I just couldn't ignore it. I was still innately drawn to her, much like the age old cliché 'like a moth to the flame'.

A few minutes later, Seth, Tabby, Rox, Embry, and I were all heading down the path towards the beach where the bonfire was being held.

Much to my disappointment, Leah was no where to be found…

"Well so much for that idea…" I muttered resignedly to my self as I sighed.

Unfortunately, my bouncy host had heard me. "What's up?" Seth asked as he fell behind to walk with me, as Tabby continued to jabber on and on with Roxie up ahead.

I smiled thinly at the warm boy, "It's nothing. I was just muttering to my self." I lied with a trivial wave of my hand.

But somehow, Seth read right through my lie and bumped me with his toned shoulder knowingly, "Don't worry, Leah said she was gonna come after she showered." he informed me with an amused glimmer in his dark eyes.

In my surprise, I nearly tripped over an ill placed root in the path and face-planted in the damp earth, but Seth caught me by the shoulders. "H-How did you know-?" I babbled, flushing furiously and ignoring the concerned stares of the others.

Wait... What was _he _talking about? Me liking his sister or the fact that she had seen me in the buck?

The boy just grinned down at me, "Sometimes, a brother just knows." he laughed, as if he was reminded of some inside joke he knew.

There, there it was again. That nagging feeling in the back of my mind again, that same feeling like there was this hilarious inside joke that was going around. Everyone besides Rox and I was in on it and the secrecy was beginning to eat at me a bit.

Curious-er, and curious-er... I tried my best to suppress my growing irritation to the back of my mind for now. There would be time to mull things over later.

Suddenly, just as we reached the shores of the beach where the bonfire was being held, my cell phone began to vibrate in my pocket. I estimated the time just as I pulled it out and I winced, knowing who it was without even looking at the caller-ID.

"Hey, mom…" I muttered uneasily as I answer the phone. Roxie and Tabby turned around slowly, cringing for my sake.

I pantomimed shooting my self in the head. I was dead. So seriously beyond dead. I was the deadest girl in Dead-onia.

"Hey." my mom answered tiredly, but gently, completely un-aware that I had run off to Olympia without telling her, yet. "Where are you?" she asked with a slight edge to her tone, indicating that she had called the house and that I should have been there to answer it.

I chuckled nervously, "Funny story about that, actually…" Seth and Embry 'Ooh-ed' sympathetically.

The atmosphere of the conversation changed almost instantaneously. "What does that mean?" my mom asked icily, I could practically feel her sub-zero gaze upon me, three-hundred-something miles away.

I rubbed the back of my neck nervously, "Um.. How would you feel if I said I was in La Push, Washington?" I asked quickly.

The silence that followed was deafening.

"Mom?" I asked.

"_Where the hell is La Push, Washington and why are you there?" _my mom all but spat into the phone, she was so furious.

"Northern Washington, near the coast, and we came because Tabby needed us to." I admitted abashedly.

I could practically feel the gears working in my mom's mind, fully aware of the particular soft spot she held for Tabby.

True to form, mom's tone was a hell of a lot gentler when she found her voice again, "My Tabby?" she asked, wavering.

It was all I could do not to start grinning, I knew I had her. "Yes, mom, your Tabby." I reassured her while snapping my fingers to get Tabby's attention. My tiny friend quickly turned, her brow puckered in confusion. "Ya wanna talk to her?" I asked gently, crooking my finger for Tabby to take my cell.

At this, my little miracle understood her role in my plan and took the phone from my hand. "Hey mommy!" Tabby chirped into the speaker, fully abusing her high-pitched cutesy voice to the fullest extent of it's mind-boggling powers. "I'm good, how're you? Ohh, I'm sorry, mom. Well, I called Harley and Roxie to come see me cuz I missed them, that's all. I didn't mean to worry you, I'm sorry. Well, I'mma give the phone back to Harley. I will. Bye, Mom."

Knowing that my mom's venom had been fully diffused by Tabby's charm, I took my cell back, grinning my thanks at my giggling friend. I walked a few meters back up the path, away from the bonfire, so as not to disturb the storytelling with my conversation.

"So when exactly are you planning on coming home?" my mom asked, her fury tamed down to the point of 'kind of annoyed'.

I smiled, "Probably around Monday or so. I'll give you a call when I know for certain." I assured her.

"You better, Harlean Noble. And if you ever think of pulling another stunt like this again, you damn well better tell me first, got it?" she growled tiredly. I could just picture her, driving home, trying not to run over some poor soul out of pure restrained anger.

I had to bite my lip in order to stop the laughter that tried to escape, knowing that sharing my mental image would do nothing to improve my situation. "I will." I managed to bite out.

Just as I was trying my best not to piss of my mother by laughing at her, who happened to appear out of the woods like a vision, but Leah Clearwater. This time she was dressed in blue jeans, gray flip flops, a skin tight black tee, and a black hoodie was thrown across her shoulder.

Leah's dark gaze caught mine and I swear I saw her eyes widen at the sight of me, with my hand tightly clamped over my own mouth and my shoulders shaking with silent laughter. I must've looked like such a freak…

But much to my surprise, an amused smile blossomed on her pretty features, positively lighting up her entire face.

It was all I could do not to stare at Leah's quickly approaching form in the twilight. My heart began it's furious pounding once again at the mere sight of her.

"Harley, what did I just say? Harley!" I heard my mom's voice scream at me through the tiny speaker in my ear.

I blinked, tearing my eyes away from Leah's face. "Sorry, what was that?" I asked slowly, as if I were coming out of a daze.

"What the hell are you doing?" Mom asked me accusingly, thoroughly peeved that she wasn't the center of my attention.

"Sorry, zoned out for a second there." I admitted offhandedly, "What were you saying?" I asked, as Leah was coming closer.

"Do you have everything you need over there? Toothbrush, deodorant?" she asked slowly, as if I was mentally impaired.

I smirked sarcastically, "Why? You gonna come up here and bring me it?" I asked cheekily. I held the phone away from my ear, at arm's length so as to protect my eardrum from the enraged snarl that I knew was coming.

My mom didn't disappoint either... _"Harlean Noble!"_

"I was kidding, mom, kidding!" I laughed as Leah raised her eyebrows at the sheer amount of noise coming from my phone. "Yes, I'm sure I have everything I need. If I don't, I'm sure I can go into town to nab it at the grocery store or something." I assured my seething mother as Leah actually stopped to wait for me a few feet away.

A light flush covered my face. She was waiting for me. Inner happy dance time.

Then I inwardly grimaced. She probably wanted to talk about the whole-seeing-me-naked-without-knowing-my-name-let-alone-buying-me-dinner-first thing... Well, I'd burn that bridge when I came to it, for the moment, I had to focus on talking to my mother.

Who's voice I had drowned out in my inner-Leah-centric-monologue again, as I caught the end of her question, "-enough money for a room at a hotel?" she drilled automatically, ever the thorough mother.

Again, my mind blanked at the mention of our rooming accommodations. On one hand, I didn't want to lie to my mother, but on the other, I knew how _pleased_ she would be if I told her that Roxie and I were staying with a family we had just met this afternoon. I decided to bite the bullet.

"Actually, La Push is kinda shy on hotels, mom... So Rox and I are bunking with the Clearwaters for the time being." I admitted uneasily as I let that piece of information sink in for my mom and for Leah. I had no idea if she was aware of the plans her brother had made or not.

I didn't have time to gauge Leah's reaction, as my mother's was swift and furious. "_The who?"_ she hissed. I almost smirked at the play on words, with the band name reference and all. But this really wasn't the time for more cheek from me, I was already in hot water with her again.

"The Clearwaters." I repeated tiredly, with a hand covering my eyes as I mentally prepared to have my mom verbally rip me a new one, "Don't freak out, mom, Seth Clearwater is Tabby's boyfriend. They're nice people. Good people. You know I wouldn't agree to something like this if I wasn't completely okay with the people first. You know I wouldn't put Roxie in that type of situation." I assured her steadfastly.

"Call me when you're coming home."

I silently released a sigh of victory. "Will do. Talk to you later, mom."

"Bye." Click.

I winced as I locked my phone and placed it back in my pocket. While it wasn't cheerful, my mom's reaction had been far better than I thought it would be.

Leah eyed me sympathetically, "Over protective mom, I'm guessing?" she asked, with a small laugh. It was musical sounding. My heart went pitter-patter again.

Pushing aside the urge to turn to goo at her laughter, I chuckled dryly, "You have no look that up in the dictionary and you see her picture, I swear." I sighed as I rubbed my eyes tiredly.

Thoroughly smudging up all of the make-up I had just put on too...

Maybe it was dark enough that Leah wouldn't notice.

"Yeah, my mom's the same way." Leah commiserated as we started walking back towards the bon-fire with a wry smirk twisting her features.

"You think it's something docs teach all new mothers?" I teased in a serious tone, "Maybe they pull all moms aside just as they're walking out of the hospital or something." I said conspiratorially.

Leah glanced at me, a grin teasing the corners of her lips, "You know, I would not be surprised if that was the case." she told me as we began to laugh at the absurdity of our conversation.

We lapsed into a comfortable silence for a moment, until Leah nudged my arm gently with her elbow, causing my pulse to stumble in it's rhythm again, with my heart lodging it's self uncomfortably in my throat. "Hey, about earlier..." she started apologetically, but I cut her off, holding up my hand.

"Don't worry about it," I assured her, "It was an accident."

_'Don't put too much pressure on her, Noble, ya don't want to scare her off. Just start out slowly, no need to rush to the flirtation stage.' _I told my self steadily, '_Brush off the previous sexual tension for now. ...And for once in your life, be cool!_' my inner voice pleaded keeningly.

Though as I thought of my pale complexion, I grimaced. Before I could stop my self I blurted out, "Though I should be the one apologizing to you, you sure I didn't snowblind you or something with my untouched-by-the-sun skin tone?" I asked as I winced.

So much for that 'be cool' idea I was going for.

Maybe it was the flickering light of the bonfires but I could have sworn that I saw a flush of color darken Leah's profile.

"S-Snowblind?" Leah stumbled, looking away, "No. No, you didn't." she muttered as she tucked her hair behind her ear in what seemed to be a nervous gesture.

My heart dropped a little. Thinking of the bathroom scenario made her uncomfortable, it seemed. This wasn't looking good for me.

_Mayday, mayday, you're crashing, Noble. Damage control, and STAT!_

"Do you, ah, wanna start over then?" I asked hesitantly, rubbing my neck.

Leah turned to look at me quizzically, "Star over?" she repeated as her brow puckered in confusion.

"We seemed to start off on the wrong foot," I explained as we stopped a few feet away from the logs set around the bonfire, "So, do you want to start over, with formal introductions and all that?" I suggested as I offered Leah my hand, secretly praying my palm wasn't as clammy as I thought.

Dark, unreadable eyes flickered from my extended hand and back to my face for about half a second, before Leah swallowed and ever-so-gently took my hand in hers.

Despite the chilly sea air that surrounded us, Leah's skin smoldered against mine once more.

And there again, were the sparks of intensity that shot up the overly sensitive nerve endings in my skin, up my arm and neck, where they burned pleasantly in my brain before cascading down my spine to be shared by every other nerve in my system.

Heat rose to my face and goosebumps covered my skin, despite my thick gray wool overcoat.

Surely I wasn't the only one noticing the chemistry between us? My gaze went from our hands to Leah's face, where Leah's chocolate orbs were glued to our intertwined appendages.

In an attempt to ease the nearly stifling sexual tension between us, I spoke first. "I'm Harley Noble. Nice to meet you." I said with a much more bravado than I actually felt. I shifted my eyes back to gauge Leah's reaction.

Leah's eyes were full of some unknown emotion, a kind of restrained happiness. A smile tugged at the corners of her full lips, but it didn't quite reach her fathomless eyes. Her eyes held a kind of hesitancy that I didn't understand. "I'm Leah Clearwater. It's nice to meet you too." she replied with a warm tone that mismatched the emotion in her eyes as she shook my hand but it was another full heartbeat before she released me.

My hand felt so cold after it left the burning intensity of Leah's grasp, I shoved it in my coat pocket, just as a particularly damp breeze swirled the trees around us. "So, is it always this cold around here?" I asked trying to drum up some small talk as we went to sit by the fire.

Leah frowned thoughtfully, "No, actually." she said as she glanced at the opaque sky above us. My heart lightened at the thought of the weather turning fairer than it was now, until Leah continued her sentence, "It's usually a lot colder. And rainier too."

My face fell into a scowl, "_Greeeat."_ I muttered sarcastically.

A surprised chuckle caught me off guard, "What? What's with the face?" Leah laughed, her eyes beginning to twinkle in amusement.

Cue pitter-patter of my heart again. But I managed to push past my hormones and continue the conversation.

I smiled sardonically, "Me and cold, not exactly best friends," I explained "but wet? Forget about it, not even on speaking terms." I said with a face which made leah laugh again.

"You realize that this is the rainiest part of the state, right?" she chuckled as she lead me towards the folding card table that was set up for food.

With a haggard sigh I hung my head in defeat, "Don't remind me." I groaned. "You'd think I'd be used to it after living in Washington for the last eighteen years, yanno?" I said with a weak smile.

Leah cast me a glance as she handed me a plate, "Yeah, Tabby mentioned you guys were all from Vancouver. There really is nothing here compared to there, is there?" she joked.

"Eh, Vancouver isn't so great. It's all spread out so commuting anywhere is a kind of a pain." I muttered with a shrug, trying my best to be diplomatic.

It looked as though food was just getting started as we arrived. Typical barbecue fare, burgers, dogs, chips, veggie and meat platters and soda. Seeing a definite lack of meat-less provisions, I glanced at my two friends' plates, where make-shift salads resided, amongst the plates which held miniature mountains of burgers and hot-dogs.

While Tabby was eating quite contently, both Roxie and I exchanged a wide-eyed glance at the amount of food that all of 'the guys' had on their plates and the rate that it all was being consumed.

Feeling a little bit under the gun, I hastily scooped up a burger and a dog each, before the last few disappeared before my eyes.

After preparing my food to my liking, I sat down on one of the bone white drift logs, and Leah took a seat next to me.

Being as crowded as it was, my leg brushed up against Leah's and the contact made the skin there tingle pleasantly. I tried my best not to dwell on the feeling, although I caught Leah glancing at the touch.

Her mesmerizing eyes met mine and I smiled easily, holding her gaze for only a heartbeat or two before returning to my food. I didn't want to scare her off, if she was even interested in me at all.

As we began to eat, everyone settled in for what I guessed was story time.

A man in a wheelchair began with the story of the Cold Ones, which I automatically assumed to be another name for vampires, having grown up watching 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' right along with Tabby and Roxie when we were kids. The connection wasn't hard to make, though I saw Tabby shiver a bit and lean closer to Seth as he wrapped his arm around her slender shoulders almost protectively.

I arched an eyebrow questioningly at the scene, but didn't comment aloud. Tabby had never been overly scared of vampires before, hell, _Angel_ was one of her all-time favorite shows on Television! With a growing sense of unease, I filed that reaction from Tabby and Seth under something I'd need to check out later. I returned my attention to the story still being told.

As the disabled man told of the transformation of the Quilette tribesman into wolves, my interest peaked. Most stories that I had heard had wolves or werewolves under the control of the vampires, such as the famous story of _Count Dracula_, or the films _Underworld_, or _Van Helsing_. But then again, in those same films, the wolves _were _actual the vampires' mortal enemy aside from man. But the aspect of the Native American transforming in to wolves via being 'Spirit Warriors' was new.

As the tale went on, revenge was taken and avenged time and time again, and my eyes began to grow heavy in the increasing warmth of the bonfire and the heat from Leah's form so close to my own when there was something mentioned about imprints.

My hyper-awareness of Leah took note how she seemed to shift almost uncomfortably once the man went on to tell how each of the spirit warriors had the ability to find their one true mate in all of the world and that they would be bonded for life. He said that though there was no clear reason why imprinting happened, it happened all the same.

Perhaps it was the glow of the fire-light, but I could have sworn that I saw a light blush form on Leah's cheeks once more.

Just as I thought this, the story seemed to come to an end, with the man looking out at the rest of us with an almost loving smile on his face. Roxie and I looked at each other with the same hesitant smile, not quite sure what to make of his look. Tabby however, seemed to just glow and snuggle in closer to Seth's embrace. The same thing happened to a number of other girls that were sitting around the bonfire.

Embry Call was giving Roxie another one of his looks of utter adoration and I had to bite my lip in order not to smile at my best friend's blush. Seemed like he enjoyed the story alright. People seemed to be pairing off and dispersing now that the story was over.

I spied Embry asking Roxie to talk a walk down to the water with him, while Tabby and Seth wandered back down the path. In a few moments, Leah and I were alone by the bonfire.

I turned to Leah, "So is that particular story told often?" I asked, as I picked up my soda.

Leah nearly jumped in her seat, as if she had forgotten I was there. "Wh-What? Which story?" she asked as she looked everywhere except my eyes.

"The imprinting one. Seems like an interesting concept." I commented, glancing at Leah's pretty features in the flickering twilight of the fire, I smiled softly to my self. "Its a nice thought, to know for certain who you were meant to be with for the rest of your life. To honestly claim that person to be your soul-mate, to know that they were the perfect person for you." I muttered, "It certainly would save a lot of time, not having to wonder if things will actually work out or not."

Leah's eyes never left my face as I spoke, a small smile on her face, "Yeah. It would." she mumbled absently as a look of thoughtfulness crossed her face.

With a yawn, I set down my plate on the sand and got up from my seat on the log to stretch out my muscles from sitting for so long, but as I stretched unfortunately my meager balance gave out just as I reached my feet, causing me to teeter backwards. The log hit the back of my knees at just the right angle so as to make me fall right off the log and as I prepared for the impact, the molten iron band of Leah's arm looped around my middle and yanked me to the left, right on top of the girl's lap.

I held my breath as Leah's face and mine turned towards one another, my every nerve ending in my body practically singing at the closeness of our bodies. 

_She was so warm and strong beneath me. _

My heart beating in my throat loud enough for Leah to hear, I stared unapologetic-ally into those deep brown depths, reading the myriad of emotions that flashed within them.

For an instant, I could have sworn that Leah was going to kiss me, our eyes never leaving each others', our faces so close... I could just imagine how soft and hot her lips would feel against mine...

When suddenly the moment broke and Leah seemed to shake herself and slowly pushed me off of her.

"I.. I need to go." she muttered as she stood quickly and left the bonfire in the direction of the woods.

I don't know how long I stood there, staring after long after Leah had disappeared from view.

Again, my heart sank somewhere near my heels.

Had been I coming on too strong? Was I sending too many signals of '_I'm really very attracted to you!'_ ? Or maybe my eyes were screaming in stereo '_Kiss me, you fool!' _?

Maybe I had thought wrong? Maybe Leah wasn't interested in women at all?

Figures that the one woman I fall ass over tea-kettle for is straight.

With a sigh, I rubbed my eyes tiredly.

I opened my eyes to see a particular black lump in the sand behind the log-seat: Leah's sweatshirt. I stared at it for a moment.

"I'll giver her back her sweatshirt and apologize." I said to my self as I scooped up the sweatshirt from the sand.

By the gods, it still smelled like her, a sweet sort of musk that was impossible to describe. I could detect her scent by just picking up the fabric.

No. Nooo. I would not stand there and smell the sweatshirt like a stalker creeper. I would give the sweatshirt back, like I said I would.

With a determined grimace on my face, I marched off into the woods in the direction I had seen Leah go, going over what I would say to Leah once I found her.

"I'm really sorry. This is the second time I've invaded your personal space bubble in a few hours and I completely apologize." I muttered to my self over and over again, until I came to the sudden realization that in my concentration of perfecting my apology, I hadn't been watching where I was walking and promptly fell flat on my face when my foot caught the edge of a protruding stump on the ground. Cursing lowly, I lifted my self off the soft ground and saw that I had wandered off the path and was now completely lost.

All around me there was an impenetrable darkness, with not even the faintest glimmer of light to guide me, as the moon was obscured by the clouds, and even if it hadn't been, there was no way the soft glow could have reached me through the thick canopy of the forest branches. I was utterly blind and stumbling noisily through the underbrush, trying desperately to find my way back to the path, back to the comforting warmth of the bonfire.

And in this vulnerable position, I became instantly and completely aware of a single thing as the hairs on the back of my neck and arms stood straight on end:

I was not alone.


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's note: I know, it's been forever, but here's a quickie to keep y'all interested. ;) _

Chapter 7

I had the distinct feeling that I was being watched by some unseen eyes somewhere in the inky blackness that surrounded me.

Not that, that should be surprising, considering that I was fairly deep in the Cascade wilderness, that was chocked full of creatures that I was currently disturbing.

A good deal of them probably had night vision.

And probably had sharp, pointy teeth.

And probably thought that I'd taste great, ala tar-tare.

I swallowed nervously and inwardly kicked my self for not having the common sense to bring my small flashlight that I kept in my purse just for situations like these along with me, or at the least, a very big stick.

My mind suddenly filled with frighteningly vivid visions of what exactly could be in the woods with me. Mountain lions, wolves, and bears, oh my! A tendril of fear coiled it's self tightly around my heart, causing my pulse to quicken and my palms to sweat. A frightened shiver wracked my frame and I hugged Leah's sweatshirt to me like a security blanket.

As I pressed the soft cotton fabric closer towards me, a whiff of Leah's unique scent floated up towards my nose and for some strange reason, it calmed me. I immediately felt my pulse drop back to my normal range, my breathing slowed.

There was no need to panic, I thought to my self as I took a steadying breath. All I needed to do was simply turn around and walk back the way I had came.

With that thought set firmly in my mind, I felt my resolve and courage strengthen. I promptly turned on my heel and began marching back through the path I had created in my haste.

I tried stubbornly to ignore the foreboding sound of the snapping of a twig breaking in the distance, lest my resolve abandon me once more.

Nonetheless, I quickened my pace, practically jogging blind in the darkness.

Somehow in my confusion, I had stumbled on to a clearing near the smattering of houses. I could make out the dark shingles of the Clearwater house in the distance.

Relief flooded me as I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding.

Which quickly turned into a gasp as familiar voices reached my ears, startling me. Two figures were just outside of the orange glow of the single street-lamp.

I quickly recognized both forms.

One was tall, with subtle curves.

Leah. And she wasn't alone.

Judging by the behemoth size of the guy, it had to have been Jake. His tanned face was scrunched in bewilderment and concern.

"Why don't you just go and talk to-" he started as he laid a hand on Leah's toned shoulder, but Leah shrugged off his hand roughly.

"What if I don't want to talk to her? What if I don't want to get to know her, huh? Didn't anyone think of that?" she shouted, rounding on Jake with fire in her dark eyes.

While flames danced in Leah's eyes, ice cold knives were being plunged into my chest, their eerie numbness flowing from my heart through my veins and arteries, stealing all warmth and feeling from my very cells. It wasn't all that hard to figure out which "her" they were talking about.

Apparently, I _had_ been coming on too strong.

But as quickly as the fire started, it died with the same suddenness as Leah seemed to crumple in on her self. "It's all just too much." she muttered as she wrapped her slender arms around her perfect torso, in a tight hug.

I was so numbed by Leah's violent rejection of me, that I couldn't even feel a surge of jealousy as Jake swept Leah into his arms, even as she whispered "I... I didn't ask for this, Jake... I don't know what to do."

Jake whispered comfort into Leah's ear, either the low tone of his voice or the numbness making it impossible to make out what he was saying. With a watery smile, Leah disengaged herself from Jake's embrace and headed back towards the woods, unconsciously giving me a wide berth, though I was absolutely certain that she wasn't aware of my presence.

As Leah traipsed through the brush, I stared lifelessly after her, making out her form as it melded with the darkness.

While my mind was on damage control:

_Breathe, Harley, breathe. It's no big deal. So she doesn't like you. So what? Not everyone has to like you. Certainly not that way, for that matter either. It's okay. She's just a girl. You meet a new one every day. It's no big deal. It doesn't matter. Right. Focusing. Be here, in the now. Use your senses. It's cold. And raining? When did it start raining? Well now you're damp._

And now no one could see if I cried, a mutinous voice in the back of my mind reminded me, as a curious ripping noise filled the air behind me.

A wry smile forced it's way on to my lips. It felt stiff and unnatural. No. I refused to cry. This shouldn't bother me this much. She was just a girl. Sure, there was that amazing chemistry, that relentless urge to be near here, that feeling of being whole when we touched. But that didn't matter. None of it mattered. She didn't feel that way about me. Hell, she was pretty much terrified of the idea of even getting to know me.

Somewhere within me, my heart was screaming. Agony, pure and simple. Sheer agony and a profound sense of _wrongness_ prevailed my entire being.

In the back of my mind, I finally realized what the numbness was. It was anesthesia, to ease the pain of Leah's rejection. Or at least an attempt to delay it a while. But it didn't matter. Nothing mattered. I would be fine. So she rejected me.

_**It didn't matter. **_

In a daze, I wiped the gathering rain from my eyes, knowing from their coolness that they couldn't have been my tears. As I did so, my better sense was leading my feet towards the house, towards warmth and in the exact opposite direction of the cause of my pain, nearly bumping into Jake as I did so.

Jake's opaque eyes widened at the sight of me, stumbling out of the woods before him.

"H-Harley? What-how long have you been there? What happened to you?" he fired off, as he took in the sight and state of my dirt covered clothes and face. His eyes were cautious as he brushed off an errant leaf on my coat, of course he was wondering how much I had heard of the conversation pertaining to me.

I couldn't bring my self to look in Jake's eyes, they reminded me too much of Leah's burning gaze, so I focused on the space just beyond his left ear.

With a numb voice that matched exactly how I felt, I repeated the same three words that echoed around in my mind, those words that steeled and broke my composure at the same time:

"It doesn't matter."


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's note: Who loves you guys? :D You can thank my friend Kris (AKA Tabby) for the speediness of my updates._

_I know the story has been a little heavy in the drama department, but don't worry, things will lighten back in a chapter or two.  
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_PS: If you're liking the story, and say, are adding it to your favorites or alerts, please, please, pretty please with begging on top, **take a minute or two to write a review**. I live for reviews_. _I promise it won't hurt. Reviews make the muses happy, and happy muses, make more chapters. _*Puppy dog eyes*

"It doesn't matter."

From the corner of my vision, I saw that Jake's face morphed into that of an unapologetic wince, but whether it was for my sake, Leah's, or his own, I wasn't certain.

_Yeah, that's right, Jakey boy, the jig is up._

"Harley..." he trailed off awkwardly, his voice soft with compassion. "Leah, she, she didn't..."

At the sound of his obvious pity, my severely injured pride bristled. "I'm fine." I bit out, my flat tone taking on an edge of obstinate anger as I stood up a bit straighter. I didn't want or need his pity, it's not like I was some child who needed to be coddled after a fall. What I _did_ want,however_, _was to just be left_ alone _so I could process this rejection in privet and to wash my face from all the dirt that was on it. Maybe crawl into bed for the next month or so.

Jake's wince turned into a concerned frown, "Just hear me out, Harley," he pleaded as he laid a hand on my arm when I went to walk past him, "It's not what it sounded like." Jake tried to explain, but once again, his words only struck another angry chord with me.

I gave the boy an incredulous stare, " 'Not what it sounded like'? " I echoed scathingly, "Dude, I was _right there!_" I gestured to my previous spot in the brush with a flailing arm, while my voice broke at the end.

Some of the anesthesia had worn off, it seemed, allowing the pain to constrict my vocal cords enough to let some of my hurt to squeak through to my voice. I lowered my arm, in an almost defeated manner.

_No. I'll be damned if I let this get to me. I will NOT start acting like the fragile little broken heart after just one day of crushing on some chick who's so deep in the closet she's finding Christmas presents!... Wow, did I really just quote 'Family guy' in the context of my real life..? Damn... This is an all-time low..._

I inhaled a shaky breath and set my shoulders, again steeling my resolve and composure. "No," I muttered quietly, thankfully the break in my voice gone as I stared down at my muddy shoes, the steady drizzle turning the dirt that had gathered there into a gritty mess, "It doesn't matter." I managed to look Jake square in the eye as I handed him Leah's hoodie that was still clutched in the crook of my arm, "Can you give this to her for me? You don't have to tell her it was me who found it or anything." I said in that same quiet tone.

As I let go of the hoodie, I refrained from inhaling Leah's intoxicating scent, despite my throat practically burning with the urge to do just that.

'_Get used to feelin' that burn, gods know you'll never get that close to her again.' _I thought to my self savagely.

Still, Jake had that damned look of pity on his face, "Are you sure you don't wanna talk about things?" he asked as he took the sweatshirt from me. Funny, I noticed, how the rain made it seem as though it was Jake who was crying, water falling in rivulets down his chiseled features in twin streams.

With the greatest culmination of a strength I had within me, I managed to give the tall boy a ghost of a smile. "I'm fine." I repeated with as much conviction as I could muster.

Hell, I better get used to telling that lie, 'cause I was gonna have to repeat that one 'till Rox and I left this place. Maybe by the end I'd even start to believe it too.

With that same look of overwhelming pity that made me want to kick him just to be rid of it, Jake simply shook his head and stepped aside to let me pass in silence.

Wordlessly, I nodded my thanks to him as I walked by, my eyes already set in front of me in a blank stare. I knew if I showed any sign of being upset in front of Rox, she'd be on me quicker than any blood hound. That girl had a sixth sense about drama, I swear. Maybe she could smell it on me, the subtle change in hormones or something?

Though it might have been all of those years being one of my closest friends, being able to discern between my fake smiles and the real ones.

Tabby would know as well, but she would wait till I came to her to talk about it.

Finally, after what seemed to be forever, I reached the cozy warmth of the Clearwater house, where I was immediately greeted with an equally warm hug from a pretty looking long-haired woman with a sharp nose in a simple red t-shirt and jeans, who I assumed to be Seth and... Leah's... mother.

"You must be Harley," she gushed, "Tabby's told us so much about you and Roxie." she said as she gave me a tight squeeze, which jostled my battered and bruised insides, giving me a short reprieve of the icy numbness.

My smile was a fraction more genuine this time as I returned the sudden embrace. "It's nice to meet you, ahh..." I trailed off awkwardly, not knowing what exactly to call my friend's boyfriend's mother. Because that wasn't a mouthful or anything.

With a gracious smile, the woman released me, "Please, call me Sue." she offered.

I gave a lop-sided half smile of my own, "Thanks for letting us stay here, Sue. I really appreciate it." I muttered, trying not to let the pain into my voice.

Sue's smile was as bright as the mid-day sun. "Don't worry about it. We're happy to have Tabby's friends stay here." she said, then she seemed to notice the state of my face and clothes, still streaked with dirt and forest debris, I could only imagine. "Sweetie, what happened to you? Did you fall?" she asked as she lightly touched the side of my head, where, much to my surprise, the touch stung and her fingers came away red. "You're bleeding!"

In all of my eloquent verbose glory, I let out a clueless "Huh?" as Sue turned on her heel towards the kitchen, clutching me by my wrist as she did so, pulling me along with her.

Suddenly Roxie's face appeared out of no where, concern as evident as the nose on her face. "Dude! Are you okay?" she demanded as she too moved my bangs aside to see the scratch I hadn't known about until that moment.

Tabby lingered by the kitchen counter, of course, bound at Seth's hip, both of their concerned gazed trained on me.

I blinked, looking away from the concern, and gingerly touched the scratch for my self. It wasn't deep, barely two centimeters long above my eyebrow, "I fell earlier." I muttered absently, pulling out one of my tissues I kept in my pockets for such an occasion, to wipe the blood off of my fingertips, "I didn't even feel that till now though." I said as I gently pressed a clean portion of the tissue against my head.

Sue turned back towards me, with a wet rag in hand, "Here, you can clean that up with this. You don't want it to get infected by getting dirt in there." she lectured me, suddenly reminding me of my own health conscious mother.

I took the wet rag from her with a small smile of thanks. I slipped away from the quartet of concerned gazes, towards the hallways bathroom where I used the mirror to clean away the blood and dirt away from the cut and the rest of my face.

My face was pale underneath the dirt and blood, well, more paler than it usually was. And my eyes were glossy from the un-shed tears gathering there. My mouth set into a grim pink little bow, tensed and ready to fire.

I looked like crap, but at least I wasn't such a grimy mess anymore. I set down the damp rag on the edge of the counter.

Absently, I brushed the dirt from my coat as best I could, but the twin brown stains on my knees from when I fell were a lost cause. I'd have to wash them before I left, lest the stain set in more than it already had.

With a sigh, I ran my hand through my hair, only to discover the small scrapes that had formed on it as well. With a barely restrained growl of annoyance, I set about washing those cuts as well. I finished washing and deadpanned at my reflection in the mirror, "You're falling apart at the seams, kid." I told the haggard looking girl in front of me, just as a single tear escaped her eye.

And then, as if she could smell it just like I thought, was Roxie's voice outside the bathroom door, "Harl? You okay in there?" she asked worriedly. I could just picture her brow knit in concern, her mouth set into a frown.

Hastily, I sniffed and wiped away the tear with the back of my injured hand. "Yeah. I'm fine." I said for the third time that night, as I wiped both eyes as a precursor to opening the door. I gave a hesitant smile to my friend to assuage the worry-lines creasing her brow.

To no avail as she narrowed her eyes at me, as if she could see into my very soul, where the pain was still fresh and raw within me, "Liar." she stated flatly.

I swallowed and tried to laugh it off, "Seriously, I'm fine." as I tried to brush past my friend, but she caught me by the chin firmly, still staring deep into my eyes, her gaze unwavering in it's intensity.

"Your eyeliner is smudged. You've been crying. What's up?" she surmised shortly, but then realization dawned on Roxanne and her warm eyes widened, "Did something happen with-" she whispered but my defensive anger flared.

"_I don't want to talk about it now."_ I hissed lowly, practically bearing my fangs in anger, trying my best to keep my voice down in case Seth or Sue heard Roxie's questioning. My tone left no room for discussion, but that didn't stop her from giving me the infamous look that meant '_We __**are**__ talking about this later'._

Wordlessly, I pleaded with Roxie to be patient, that I would tell her everything once I was sure we were alone.

Roxie pinned me with that same look, but verbally, she muttered a quiet "Okay." for my benefit.

Oh, the conversation one girl can have with another without saying a single word.

Now if only it was that freaking easy with a certain dark-haired beauty who seemed to be scared to death of me.


End file.
